Should I be an EMT?

[Sgt. Hawkeye]

I'm 16 from CT and I wanna be an EMT wicked bad. I am in Civil Air Patrol as well. I plan to go the the Air Force or Coast Guard Academies immediatly after high school. With all this on my plate should I still be an EMT?

 

[Ridryder911]

Congrat's on your thoughts of going into EMS. I suggest you talk to your school counselor and possibly recruiter. Many times the EMT program is in their specialty areas. Now with that saying if you do go into military, be sure to take as many civilian cert tests as possible, since many military cert.'s do not cross over.

Second, don't worry about being an EMT. Keep your head into studies and out of trouble, EMS will always be there if you do so happen to want to pursue EMS.

Good luck,
R/r 911

 

[SwissEMT]

Forget EMS. Stay in school.

If you're looking at doing Air Farse, aim high, get tough and go for PJ. They get NREMT-Paramedic certified as part of the initial curriculum. PJ is one hell of a gig, and when you get out, you have LOADS of experience and high demand. I haven't met a single PJ who doesn't love his job.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

Education and training are the key to pursue one's dream. You are on the right track as far as having a dream, just don't bite off more than you can chew. Take your time to think about what you want to do..... Good luck!

 

[Trumajunkie]

Forget EMS. Stay in school.

If you're looking at doing Air Farse, aim high, get tough and go for PJ. They get NREMT-Paramedic certified as part of the initial curriculum. PJ is one hell of a gig, and when you get out, you have LOADS of experience and high demand. I haven't met a single PJ who doesn't love his job.

So true if I knew about them when I joined I would have left the fire dept and tried out for them. It's incredibly hard but worth it.
TJ

 

[WannaBEMT]

I agree, stay in school, and when you get done rethink it and see if you still want to do this, also see if you can do some ride alongs to see how you feel on this, THEN if you aren't still saying "wicked bad" that will be a good indicator if it is time...LOL I am just teasing ya!

Jenn

 

[emtkelley]

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and that you have developed a plan. I wish I had had such a plan, I would be sitting pretty good right now.

I can't add much to what the others have said as they have given some excellent advice. It is truly refreshing to see someone of your age have a desire to do more with their life than take up employment at a low paying job and live for the moment. It gives me hope for this next generation.
Good luck!!

 

[firecoins]

I wish I went into the PJs. Oh well.

Do Navy Corpsmen or Army Medics get NR EMT-Ps?

 

[Sgt. Hawkeye]

Thanks for all the advice and the compliments, I try to focus on the future as much as possible but it does have advantages and disadvantages. But I picked up an application at the FD and I talked with a bunch of guys and I told them my plans. And they said taking the classes and getting involved wouldnt hurt me at all. One of the guys there was from CAP so he gave his insight on it. And working for the FD is a great thing to fallback on in the event i dont pursue a military career. Thanks

 

[SwissEMT]

I wish I went into the PJs. Oh well.

Do Navy Corpsmen or Army Medics get NR EMT-Ps?

Negative.
91W Medics get a NREMT-B license as the first 6 weeks of AIT.
There has been talk of making another certification level for military trained combat medics, but nothing has really been put out yet.

As for the Navy, no idea.

 

[firecoins]

Negative.
91W Medics get a NREMT-B license as the first 6 weeks of AIT.
There has been talk of making another certification level for military trained combat medics, but nothing has really been put out yet.

As for the Navy, no idea.

obviously 91W medics must be an Army term.

I have come into contact with former Air Force medics who seem to be quite highly trained, setting bones and doing minor surgey while transporting patients via airplane to Germant or the US.

 

[SwissEMT]

91W is the Combat Medic MOS for the Army.

There are HUNDREDS of medical-related jobs in the military, all of which have varying requirements, job descriptions and protocols.

The Air Force doesn't have any field medics in the purest sense, but have some really neat gigs with Critical Care transport in C-130s.

 

[fm_emt]

bah

I knew I should have joined the Air Force. :|

 

[SwissEMT]

still can, i'm sure!

You make yourself sound old

 

[firecoins]

at 29, overweight and no athletic bones in my body there is no way I am joining no air force especially no PJs.

 

[fm_emt]

still can, i'm sure!

You make yourself sound old

I'll be 32 this year and I got too many bills to pay!

 

[xswatmedic]

Forget EMS. Stay in school.

If you're looking at doing Air Farse, aim high, get tough and go for PJ. They get NREMT-Paramedic certified as part of the initial curriculum. PJ is one hell of a gig, and when you get out, you have LOADS of experience and high demand. I haven't met a single PJ who doesn't love his job.

Best advice on the topic! I have worked with a few PJs in Tactical EMS and they are locked on!

 

[oldschoolmedic]

The Navy has the best trained medical personnel of the services. The 0000 basic corpsman (first half of the course is emt-b, the second half is hospital training) is the equivalent of the basic army medic, and then it rolls into a bunch of serious sub-specialties everything from aerospace to ground-pounding SEAL and Marine Corpsman, all the way up to Independent Duty Corpsman. The IDCs run the medical detachments on smaller ships and subs. The only mil equivalent to them is the Special Forces medic. These guys perform surgery, and prescribed meds. The schools only take the best and competition is fierce, then the attrition rate is enormous. You may start in a class of twenty, but on graduation day it can be just you standing there.

 

[firecoins]

The Navy has the best trained medical personnel of the services. The 0000 basic corpsman (first half of the course is emt-b, the second half is hospital training) is the equivalent of the basic army medic, and then it rolls into a bunch of serious sub-specialties everything from aerospace to ground-pounding SEAL and Marine Corpsman, all the way up to Independent Duty Corpsman. The IDCs run the medical detachments on smaller ships and subs. The only mil equivalent to them is the Special Forces medic. These guys perform surgery, and prescribed meds. The schools only take the best and competition is fierce, then the attrition rate is enormous. You may start in a class of twenty, but on graduation day it can be just you standing there.

wouldn't PJs qualify as Special Forces?
Of course the Corpsman is awesome. He could probably be either a Seal Corpsman or a Force Recon Corpsman.

 

[SwissEMT]

PJ falls under AFSOC. So it is Special Operations by definition, but...

The term "Special Forces" is reserved for any 18 series MOS of the US Army. Though the terms have become more and more widespread, PJ is not Special Forces but rather a seperate special operations asset. Just as Navy SEALs are considered a special operations unit, but are not regarded as the "Special Forces" in the military community because they are from the dept of the Navy, not Army.
In the Navy, most SOF are in Navy Special Warfare. While in the Army, most SOF are in Special Forces Goups

Does that help at all?

In one sentence: All combat branches have Special Operations, but only the Army has Special Forces.


As far as the scariest medical guys I've ever met, it'd definitely be an 18D